ARTICLES ABOUT FRONTIER MARKETS BY DATE - PAGE 3

MUMBAI: It has been a comatose start to the much awaited stock lending and borrowing (SLB) mechanism flagged off by the Securities and Exchange Board of India last week. In seven trading sessions since its inception, only a measly 15 shares have been transacted in the SLB segment. Market watchers say participation by foreign institutional investors holds the key to the success of this mechanism. But these investors are unlikely to come rushing, at least not while they have a far more efficient route to short sell Indian equities, they feel.

MUMBAI: Capital goods, a sector which investors felt was a sure shot way to riches in 2007, seems to be slowly falling out of favour, at least for the moment. The reason for this is the lower-than-estimated earnings of some companies in the March quarter, triggering some analyst rating downgrades and sparking concerns that the best of the sector may be over in the foreseeable future. The anxiety is not about the companies' order book position, which remain robust, but scepticism that they may not be able to meet project deadlines within the estimated costs.

Investing in emerging markets isn't optional anymore. Globalisation means that countries once thought of as marginal are central to any smart investment plan. What's still optional ? for now, at least ? are markets characterised as "frontier. " Frontier markets are young and thinly traded, with small numbers of stocks, poor regulation, unreliable financial reports and low levels of foreign ownership. In other words, mystery markets. But, like travel, they broaden the mind.

MUMBAI: Beset by subprime worries, most equity markets are reeling under extreme bearishness and frequent bouts of sell-offs. However, even in these times of turmoil, there are a handful of markets (frontier markets, as they are called) that are not really impacted by subprime credit defaults. According to Merrill Lynch analysts, frontier markets are economies with a billion people, a nominal GDP of $2.4 trillion and a market capitalisation to the tune of $1.7 trillion. Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Peru, Pakistan, Kuwait, Nigeria, Colombia, UAE, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Jordan, Lebanon and Latvia are some of the key frontier markets.

MUMBAI: For foreign investors, the road to investing in India has not been easy. And if market talk is to be believed, several foreign institutional investors (FIIs) may not be able to invest in India as they have not yet received their PAN or permanent account number. Sources said that some of them even have started to divert their funds from India to other emerging and frontier markets. Capital market regulator Sebi had made PAN mandatory for all categories of demat account-holders including foreign corporate institutions and FIIs in 2006.

MUMBAI: The world may be gung-ho over emerging markets, but somewhere down the investment lane, there is a build-up of interest in frontier markets. Frontier markets are economies with a billion people, a nominal GDP of $2.4 trillion and a market capitalisation of $1.7 trillion. According to analysts, in due course, when emerging markets lose sheen, frontier markets will emerge as the best investment hubs of the world. Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Peru, Pakistan, Kuwait, Nigeria, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Romania, UAE, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Slovakia, Lebanon, Namibia, Estonia and Latvia are some of the key frontier markets, according to a Merrill Lynch report on frontier markets.

LONDON: Standard & Poors on Thursday launched an index for frontier equity markets containing the largest and most liquid stocks from over 30 developing markets across the world, seeking to serve risk-averse investors. Frontier equity markets are those which are relatively small and illiquid even by emerging market standards. The index, S&P/IFCG extended frontier 150, is designed to meet the needs of those investors who seek to expand into markets with potential to give returns similar or greater than other better known developed and emerging markets, S&P vice- president (index services)

LONDON: Standard & Poors today launched an index for frontier equity markets containing the largest and most liquid stocks from over 30 developing markets across the world, seeking to serve risk-averse investors. Frontier equity markets are those which are relatively small and illiquid even by emerging market standards. The index, S&P/IFCG Extended Frontier 150, is designed to meet the needs of those investors who seek to expand into markets with potential to give returns similar or greater than other better known developed and emerging markets, S&P Vice- President (Index Services)

HONG KONG: They are called the frontier markets and with good reason — they are tiny and lack economic sophistication even by emerging market standards, yet investors are flocking to them. Soaring commodity prices, low wages, domestic economic reforms and an absence of correlation with the gyrations of the mainstream markets are the main attractions drawing investors to places such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Bangladesh and Vietnam. "Financial markets are so integrated these days that it is very difficult to find asset classes with low correlation," said Charles Wang, US-based senior portfolio manager with Acadian Asset Management.